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BSII OEM Kit Form Documentation Question — Parallax Forums

BSII OEM Kit Form Documentation Question

CoffinBoundCoffinBound Posts: 13
edited 2006-05-30 18:39 in BASIC Stamp
While reading thru the manual that came with my kit, I noticed a line that read something like...

"after assembling and before applying power to your board, clean it, make sure there are not solder bridges, etc, etc, etc."

I'm just curious what exactly is meant by "clean it". Although I am a newbie to soldering, I have never heard that term before. Can someone clear this up so I don't ruin my new BSII?

Thanks in advance.

CoffinBound

Comments

  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2006-05-30 14:56
    Often, depending on the type of solder used you may have excess residual flux build-up which can cause problems later on.· Also you want to make sure no lead trimmings have stuck to this and shorted out any solder points and of course check for solder bridges, which is when two leads that are not supposed to be connected are connected by a bead of solder between them.

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
    csavage@parallax.com
  • CoffinBoundCoffinBound Posts: 13
    edited 2006-05-30 15:16
    OK, so lets say that I do have residual flux built up. How would I know this, and how do I clean this? I use Kester Solder with a rosin core. I don't use any additional flux pens or anthing like that.

    I can definately handle the solder bridges that you mentioned.
  • PJAllenPJAllen Banned Posts: 5,065
    edited 2006-05-30 15:38
    · Sometimes the rosin/flux that melts out can be a problem with a high-freq circuit, but in the STAMP-realm, I think that it probably won't be.· We used to figure that it was better to leave the flux in place and·that "cleaning" served a cosmetic end only, but was actually counter-productive as the flux presence would inhibit corrosion over time.
    · You could easily get a "flux remover" spray.
    · The best thing to do would be to make certain there are no solder bridges, cold solder, or lead/wire-bits from snippings.
  • CoffinBoundCoffinBound Posts: 13
    edited 2006-05-30 15:44
    Sounds good to me! Thanks for the info.
  • ForrestForrest Posts: 1,341
    edited 2006-05-30 16:16
    A good way to clean the board is use a 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and water and brush the solder joints with an old tooth brush.
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2006-05-30 18:39
    Forrest is correct...The residual flux will look like a clear of slightly brown residue on the board around the solder joints.· This stuff can be tacky and collect dust and metal particles.· The toothbrush method usually works.

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
    csavage@parallax.com
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